Abstract
BackgroundHealth research funding agencies are increasingly promoting evidence use in health practice and policy. Building on work suggesting how agencies can support such knowledge translation (KT), this paper discusses an online survey to assess KT training needs of researchers and research users as part of a Canadian provincial capacity-building effort.MethodsThe survey comprised 24 multiple choice and open-ended questions including demographics, interest in learning KT skills, likelihood of participating in training, and barriers and facilitators to doing KT at work. More than 1,200 people completed the survey. The high number of responses is attributed to an engagement strategy involving partner organizations (health authorities, research institutes, universities) in survey development and distribution. SPSS was used to analyze quantitative results according to respondents’ primary role, geographic region, and work setting. Qualitative results were analyzed in NVivo.ResultsOver 85 percent of respondents are interested in learning more about the top KT skills identified. Research producers have higher interest in disseminating research results; research users are more interested in the application of research results. About one-half of respondents require beginner-level training in KT skills; one-quarter need advanced training. Time and cost constraints are the biggest barriers to participating in KT training. More than one-half of respondents have no financial support for travel and almost one-half lack support for registration fees. Time is the biggest challenge to integrating KT into work.ConclusionsOnline surveys are useful for determining knowledge translation training needs of researchers, research users and ultimately organizations. In this case, findings suggest the importance of considering all aspects of KT in training opportunities, while taking into account different stakeholder interests. Funders can play a role in developing new training opportunities as part of a broad effort, with partners, to build capacity for the use of health research evidence. Survey results would ideally be complemented with an objective needs assessment based on core competencies, and should be acted on in a way that acknowledges the complexity of knowledge translation in healthcare, existing training activities, and the expertise stakeholders already have but may not refer to as knowledge translation.
Highlights
Health research funding agencies are increasingly promoting evidence use in health practice and policy
Health research funding agencies in Canada are increasingly focused on knowledge translation (KT), in part to demonstrate accountability for spending public dollars, and recognizing they are well placed to facilitate the movement of evidence into practice and policy
KT is variously described, but a definition increasingly used in Canada is attributed to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the healthcare system [1]
Summary
Health research funding agencies are increasingly promoting evidence use in health practice and policy. Health research funding agencies in Canada are increasingly focused on knowledge translation (KT), in part to demonstrate accountability for spending public dollars, and recognizing they are well placed to facilitate the movement of evidence into practice and policy. Because these agencies are funded by provincial governments, there is increased pressure to target resources towards resolving health system issues. A growing literature is exploring the barriers to the dissemination and use of evidence by both researchers and those who use research These barriers include lack of access to information, lack of knowledge and skills, inadequate infrastructure to support evidence-informed decision making, lack of strong leadership, lack of incentives, and intervention characteristics. This literature suggests which mechanisms might overcome specific barriers in a range of settings, the evidence is far from clear and this work is nascent [2,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
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